Back to School Bullies

With school just around the corner, many parents are getting school supplies, clothes and shoes, and trying to get their children back on a school-time schedule. With all the craziness that goes into getting ready for a new school year, many parents don’t think to prepare their children for any old or new bullies they may face. Being bullied can cause loss of sleep, appetite, and poor academic progress. If your child seems like they are having issues in any of these areas, it could be because they do not want to face their bullies during another school year.  So, we have come up with some tips on what you can do to help your child be prepared and hopefully avoid the bullying all together.

1. Bullying often creates self-esteem issues, so have a talk with your children before school starts.  Remind them how great they are, how special they are to you, and how deserving they are of great things. They probably already know these things, but hearing them often will help boost their confidence and let them know that nothing they are being told by the bullies is true.
2. Help them learn to stay calm and how to deal with their emotions. If they are getting bullied, it could be easy for them to want to fight back or get mad.  If they know how to get out of the situation and take a few deep breaths to center themselves and not get too overwhelmed, it will help deescalate the situation.  This also goes hand-in-hand with ignoring a bully.  Bullies get their power by the reactions of the children they are picking on, so if they can ignore them, the bullies will be more likely to stop.  Founder of Kid Power, Irene van der Zande, suggests practicing this at home could be very helpfully.  Run through different scenarios and have your child ignore you the best they can in each situation.  The more prepared they are before hand, the easier it will be when faced with a bully at school.
3. Let your children know it is a good thing to speak up! Many students will not report bullying for fear of being seen as a tattle-tale or something worse happening after reporting.  Let them know if they are in danger or feel uncomfortable, reporting it is always the best option and that you will keep them safe.  On the way home from school or at dinner, ask your children open ended questions so they will answer with more than “yes” or “no” and tell you what is going on with them. Also, Mrs. Zande suggests when they do tell you something, remind them how grateful you are that they told you and let them know it was the right thing to do. This increases the chances of them telling you if something goes wrong again.
4. Lastly, remind them to always be a friend. Having at least one friend decreases the chance of a person being bullied; therefore, if they are friendly, they will be helping not only themselves, but others as well. Something as simple as smiling and inviting someone to play or eat with them can change not only their day, but the other students as well.

No child deserves to be bullied and they should be able to learn in a comfortable environment at school. Giving these tips to your children before and throughout the school year could help them avoid unwanted problems with bullies.  For more information and resources contact the Child Advocate at The Safe Place at 501-354-1884.